Meals for migrants: The unsung role of city canteens

Urban canteens remain uneasy spaces for women, whether as customers or cooks. This kitchen in Telibandha is a rarity, with the sole woman head chef in Raipur’s canteens

Summers are hot and winters really cold in my birthplace, Gwalior, a place known for its climatic extremes. The memories of the loo - those hot, suffocating winds that my aaji warned us against every post-school afternoon - came rushing back as I read chapter 5 of the new book Food For All: The Role of Urban Canteens in Nourishing Communities. The book is written by Gummadi Sridevi and Amalendu Jyotishi and published by University of Hyderabad-Institute of Eminence.

The chapter delves into the Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Scheme in Gwalior, a lifeline for urban dwellers, offering low-cost, nutritious meals. This book serves as a comprehensive collection of nine-odd case studies from urban canteens across different cities and states. It doesn't include Mumbai, which has experimented with zunka bhakri yojanas but not with the consistency that could have been achieved. Unfortunately, Maharashtra lacks a robust policy framework to enhance food and nutrition security for the needy; in fact it was civil society groups that did a good job of food provision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Free, nutritious millets-based breakfast is served to the public at Buvva Bandi, a mobile canteen in Tellapur, Hyderabad. Pics courtesy Food For All

The Gwalior chapter (penned by Vaishnavi Paliya) - bringing alive the rhythm of the lunch hour - spoke to me in particular as the city has not just grown in proportions since my schoolgoing days in the 1970s, but has attained all the trappings of the big metro with a large, vulnerable migrant population. As the book captures effectively, the bustling canteen near Jhansi Road Bus Stop in Gwalior is a place where migrant workers from nearby towns like Sabalgarh, Tikamgarh, and Dabra converge. Local bus drivers, conductors, students prepping for competitive exams and passers-by from the bus and railway stations seek spaces for an affordable meal.

The Jhansi Road canteen, without a kitchen, relies on Naya Bazar's unit, serving 400+ people daily. Since 2017, the Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Scheme has grown from 56 kitchens in 49 districts to 188 canteens. Prices, once fluctuating, are back at '5, with mobile kitchens now directly serving workers, offering not just meals but dignity in uncertain times.

It's a full house at an Annapurna Dal Bhat Centre in Raipur, which serves hot, nutritious meals. And yet, there's not a woman in sight

Food For All analyses how urban canteens in cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai became lifelines during the 2020 pandemic, providing affordable meals to migrant workers, students, and labourers.

From Chennai's Amma Canteen to Ranchi's Mukhyamantri Dal Bhat Yojana, each chapter examines their impact on hygiene and social inclusion. These canteens offer more than food - they tackle malnutrition, stunting, and anaemia in urban slums. NFHS-5 data shows chronic undernutrition in 13 states and rising underweight individuals in 16 states.

Gujarat's Shramik Annapurna Yojana offers a full meal for '5, but is criticised for small portions, as well as the lack of plates, drinking water or seating, prompting customers to bring their own dabbas

In regions with high malnutrition, like Gujarat and Telangana, urban canteens serve as safety nets. Many in non-notified slums lack access to government food schemes, worsening insecurity. As urbanisation outpaces food systems, canteens provide relief for the 14 per cent of urban poor facing hunger. India's 111th rank in the Global Hunger Index highlights this crisis.

Author Gummadi Sridevi advocates for urban canteens as universal services, not just for the disadvantaged. They can be deliberately positioned in high-traffic areas and managed with greater gender sensitivity, so that they serve diverse populations. Engaging women's SHGs can boost food and livelihood security, while rural expansion via local governance improves access, she feels. She is now working on Gender, Caste and Commons - another research project exploring caste impacting access to and management of shared resources, a largely overlooked topic, particularly in data-driven studies.

Raipur, Chhattisgarh's capital and Central India's ‘rice bowl,' is rapidly urbanising. Amid malls and construction, state-run Shram Anna Kendras, launched in 2017 and renamed in 2019, provide '5 meals. Raipur has four such centres - two master kitchens and two distribution hubs - offering hot lunches to its diverse workforce, notes Abhiruchi Das.

Located within Raipur's chaudis and chakkis - bustling industrial hubs - these canteens attract a steady flow of customers who wait for the shutters to roll up. Industrial workers, security guards, auto drivers, technicians, and mid-level managers queue alongside construction labourers packing multiple portions in steel tiffins to share. At Telibandha and Gandhi Maidan, daily wagers dominate, while Magneto Mall serves professionals, security staff and outsourced housekeepers. Customers find the food simple and comforting, akin to home cooking. For new migrants, especially Magneto Mall's housekeeping staff, these canteens ease the transition of setting up kitchens. They serve both locals and migrants from Durg, Mahasamund, and Baloda Bazar, as well as from the states of Odisha, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

However, urban canteens remain uneasy spaces for women. In a setting dominated by men lingering over chai and conversation, a lone woman at a food stall often draws unwelcome attention, reinforcing gendered barriers in public dining.

The canteen story from Gujarat (written by Paliya) is a bit different. Gujarat's approach to urban food security reflects its economic landscape as the trading capital of India. The Shramik Annapurna Yojana, first launched in 2017 and relaunched in October 2022, aims to provide subsidised meals to migrant construction workers. Under this scheme, meals are available at 118 Kadia-Nakas - informal labour hubs where workers gather to seek employment - across 10 districts, with 47 of these centres located in Ahmedabad alone.

Operating from 7-11 am, these canteens serve around 100 meals per Naka daily. The '5 meal - six chapatis, dal, sabzi, and sometimes a sweet - is affordable but criticised for undercooked chapatis and small portions. Workers bring their own containers, and the lack of drinking water and seating adds to difficulties. Women often avoid these crowded spaces despite time-saving benefits. Expanding meal hours and improving security could boost participation. Administrative hurdles like E-Nirman card delays and Aadhaar-linking issues further limit access, reducing the scheme's impact on Gujarat's labour force.

Food For All salutes the spirit of giving in the canteen managers and servers. These are the unsung heroes of our times.

Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre is a culture columnist in search of the sub-text. You can reach her at sumedha.raikar@mid-day.com